Telephone switch-box.



No. 849,615. PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

S. G. HOUGHTON. TELEPHONE SWITCH BOX.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.21, 1907.

I 10577163868; I Zia era Z07,

$Z,,& g w w STEPHEN O. l-IOUGHTON, OF HOME, NEW YORK.

TELEPHONE SWITCH-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed January 21,1907. Serial No. 353,238.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN O. Honori- TON, of Rome, county of Oneida, State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Telephone Switch-Boxes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to telephone switchboxes especially adapted for use as extension switch-boxes, and has for its object to improve and simplify the construction of the switches and electrical connections which are contained in the boxes to the end that a removable switch-plug may be employed for electrically connecting the telephone with the circuits and that the switches, which are operated by the pivoted telephone-supporting hook, may be employed as improved and positive means for raising said hook when the telephone is removed therefrom.

. The switch-box forming the subject-matter of my present application is designed to be employed in connection with a hand-telephone, such as shown in Letters Patent No. 837,470, dated December 4, 1906, and also to be employed in connection with a bell which may be located at a distant point, the same bell being employed, if desired, in connection with several telephones.

Figure 1 shows in side elevation a telephone extension switch-box embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear side view of the same. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same, taken on the dotted lines 4 4. Fig. 5 is a detail of the switch members and electrical connections removed from the shell, the parts being shown in the positions they will occupy when the telephone is removed from the hooks.

a represents the shell of the box, which is made of quite small dimensions, yet large enough to contain the switches and electrical connections. The shell has ears (d, by which it may be secured by screws to any suitable support, or in lieu thereof any other means may be provided for attaching the shell to a support. The shell also has a slot a for the telephone-supporting hook I). The shell also has a circular or other shaped hole for the switch-plug c, that portion of the shell through which the hole passes being insulated. This hole is herein shown as arranged at the bottom of the shell; but it may be otherwise disposed. \Vithin the shell a a metallic supporting-frame (Z is provided, which, so far as my invention is concerned, may be of any suitable shape and construction and arranged to support the switches and the electrical connections. This frame as here shown has ears (1 at the sides, four in number, which engage the side walls of the shell for the purpose of holding it in proper osition with respect to the shell. Said frame also has an ear d at one side, to which the several strips or switch members are attached. A plurality of flat metallic strips are arranged in parallelism and are suitably supported on the frame, being insulated from each other. As a support for said strips several [lat strips 0 of insulating material are employed, which are arranged side by side, with the metallic strips interposed between them, screws 0 0 extending through holes in all of said strips and which enter the threaded holes in the ear (l to thereby attach the assembled strips to the supporting-frame. An insulated support is thus constructed for the metallic strips.

As here shown, some of the metallic strips are made short and extend downward from the insulated support, and some are also made short and extend upward therefrom, and some are made longer and extend both downward and upwardas, for instance, the strip 1 is made short and extends downward, the strip 2 is made long and extends both upward and downward, the strip 8 is made short and extends upward, the strip 4 is made short and extends upward, the strip 5 is made long and extends both upward and downward, and the strip 6 is made short and extends upward.

The downwardly-extended strips or pertions thereof are provided with inturned ends and are made spring-acting and are arranged with rcspect to each other so as to engage the end of a switch or jack plug 0,

which is hereinshown as having three conducting portions adapted to be respectively engaged by the three downwardly-extended strips or portions. The switch-plug is connected by circuit-wires with the telephone f and when in engagement with the spring-acting strips or portions electrically connects said telephone therewith.

The upwardly-extended strips or portions 2, 3, 4, and are arranged in two pairs, the strips of each air being close together, and one member 0 each pair has a contact-point which is adapted to engage the other member thereof when the two members are permitted or caused to approach each other. These upwardly-extended strips or portions serve as and constitute two switches for the circuits, and normally the members of each pair are separated from each other, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the circuits are normally open,

but when permitted or caused to approach each other they engage, and thereby close the circuits, as shown in Fig. 5.

One member of each switch, as 2 and 5, is made longer than the other member, and said longer members are formed or provided with inturned ends which engage a cylindrical or other shaped portion or boss Z) of insulating material, which is extended from the pivoted telephone-supporting hook I). These members particularly are made spring-acting. When the telephone is supported on the hook, said cylindrical portion 1) is raised and the spring-acting members are spread apart and separated from the other members of the switches, and when the telephone is removed from the hook said spring-acting members are caused or permitted to approach each other, and thereby engage the other members of the switches and close the circuits. Said s ring-acting members are so constructed that as they a proach each other they act to depress the cy indrical portion 1), and thereby raise the hook. By thus constructing said members a restoring-spring is not required for the hook, thereby simplifying the construction of the parts. In lieu of providing two switches, as shown, one switch only may be used, in which case, however, both of the longer spring-strips 2 and 5 will be employed to insure positive action in raising the hook.

A plate 9 of insulating material is placed upon the several insulated plates and strips, having binding-screws g, to which the circuit-wires or leading-in wires are connected, and, as herein shown, four such bindingscrews are provided, although any other number may be employed. Each bindingscrew is connected by a metallic strip 10 or other means with one of the aforesaid strips as, for instance, they may be connected with the strips 1, 3, 4, and 6. The switch mem bers and electrical connections and supports therefor are therefore all supported on a single frame and said frame is contained in the shell (1 and may be secured in proper position therein by a screw h.

By the construction herein described I am enabled to use a box of very small dimensions, which for an extension-telephone is of great practical utility.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a telephone switch-box, an insulated support, a plurality of strips, some extended downward and some upward and some both downward and upward from said support, the downwardly-extended strips and portions thereof forming electrical connections and the upwardly-extended strips and portions thereof forming switches, a switch-plug adapted to be connected with said downwardly-extended strips and portion thereof, and a telephone-supporting hook adapted to be engaged by the upwardly-extended portions of the strips, substantially as described.

2. In a telephone switch-box, an insulated support, two pairs of strips supported thereby which are disposed in parallelism and constructed and arranged to form a pair of switches, one member of each pair extending downward to provide an electrical connection and the other member of each pair extending upward and being electrically connected with 'a binding-post, substantially as described.

3. In a telephone switch-box, an insulated support, two pairs of strips supported thereby which are disposed in parallelism and constructed and arranged to form a pair of switches and one member of each pair extending downward and constructed and arranged to form a pair of engaging portions and a switch-plug adapted to be engaged and held by said downwardly-extended portion, substantially as described.

4. In a telephone switch-box, a pivoted supporting-hook, an insulated support, two spring-acting strips supported thereby which are disposed in parallelism and constructed and arranged to engage said hook, said strips extending downward and constructed and arranged to form a pair of engaging portions, a switch member adapted to be engaged by one of said strips and a switchplug adapted to be engaged by said downwardly-extended portions, substantially as described.

5. In a telephone switch-box, a pivoted telephone-supporting hook having a cylindrical extension, an insulated support, one or more pairs of strips supported thereby, constructed and arranged to serve as switches, one member of each pair having an inturned end, the under surfaces of such inturned ends engaging said cylindrical extension, whereby said members are operated by the hook and also serve as means for positively restoring the hook, substantially as described.

6. In a telephone switch-box, a pivoted telephone-supporting hook having a cylin- IIO drical extension, an insulated support, two In testimony whereof I have signed my spring-acting strips supported thercbyhavname to this specification in the presence of ing inturned ends which extend above and two subscribing witnesses.

engage said cylindrical extension and operate 5 STEPHEN C. HOUGHTON.

to raise the hook, and a switch member enlVitnesses: gaged by one of said spring-acting strips, sub- 1 B. J. NoYns, l H. B. DAVIS.

stantially as described. 

